“My heart is trying to escape.”
Brenda laughed nervously.
“That makes two of us.”
The police arrived nine minutes later.
Deputies entered with weapons drawn.
Brenda gave them descriptions.
Mike gave them his wallet information.
Then an officer asked:
“Any cameras?”
Brenda nodded.
“Above the counter.”
The deputy looked up.
“That's good.”
Brenda walked to the small monitor in the office.
She pressed a button.
The footage appeared.
Clear enough.
Leo's face.
Corey's face.
The shotgun.
The revolver.
Mike.
Everything.
The deputy stared.
“Ma'am, you said there weren't cameras?”
“Outside,” Brenda replied. “I thought you meant outside.”
The deputy nodded.
“Inside is enough.”
The footage was copied.
A second deputy photographed the scene.
Then someone noticed something else.
Leo had dropped his glove near the door.
A dark work glove.
Inside it was a receipt.
Gas station.
Fresno.
Timestamped earlier that evening.
Detectives would later trace it to a security camera.
The investigation had begun.
But nobody in the diner knew how far it would go.
The Dodge Neon
Leo and Corey drove west.
Neither spoke.
The shotgun lay between them.
The revolver sat in Corey's lap.
After five miles, Corey said:
“Pull over.”
Leo kept driving.
“Leo.”
“What?”
“Pull over.”
“No.”
“You're going to get us killed.”
Leo slammed the brakes.
The Neon stopped on the shoulder.
Corey jumped out.
He leaned against the hood.
Leo remained behind the wheel.
“You were going to shoot him.”
“No.”
“You raised the gun.”
“I wasn't going to shoot.”
“You don't know that.”
Leo stared ahead.
Corey walked around to the driver's side.
“We should throw the guns away.”
Leo shook his head.
“Richie will kill us.”
“He might kill us anyway.”
Silence.
Then headlights appeared behind them.
A patrol vehicle.
Leo's stomach dropped.
“Get in.”
Corey jumped inside.
The patrol car passed.
Neither breathed until the taillights disappeared.
Leo started driving again.
But he didn't know the deputies had already issued a description.
And he didn't know a license-plate camera two miles ahead had captured the Neon.
At 1:34 a.m., their car was identified.
At 1:47, detectives located an address connected to the vehicle.
At 2:11, officers were outside the apartment.
But Leo wasn't there.
He had already gone to see Richie.
That decision would change everything.
The Debt
Richie Colton listened without interrupting.
Leo stood in front of him.
Corey stayed near the door.
“You failed,” Richie said.
Leo swallowed.
“It wasn't supposed to go like that.”
“Nothing is ever supposed to go like that.”
“We got money.”
“How much?”
“Four hundred.”
Richie laughed.
“Four hundred?”
Leo said nothing.
Richie looked at the shotgun.
“You still have it?”
Leo nodded.
“Give it to me.”
Leo handed it over.
Richie examined it.
Then he looked at Leo.
“You used my gun to rob a diner.”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
Richie stepped closer.
“You know what your problem is?”
Leo shook his head.
“You think desperation makes you special.”
He pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
Leo hesitated.
“Friday.”
Richie looked at him.
“You still owe me.”
Leo left.
Outside, Corey whispered:
“We have to go.”
Leo nodded.
But neither knew where.
Because now the police were looking for them.
And Richie wanted his money.
They were trapped between two dangers.
One carried badges.
The other didn't need them.
The Morning News
By sunrise, the story had already begun spreading.
A local station aired a short report.
Two armed suspects had attempted to rob Pioneer Wells Diner.
No one had been injured.
Police were searching for two men.
The security footage had not yet been released.
Then a deputy made a mistake.
Someone leaked a ten-second clip.